Carl Strehl (July 12, 1886 – August 18, 1971) was a German educator born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

who was influential in the teaching of the blind.

History

In December 1907, Strehl lost his eyesight while working in a chemical factory in New York. Later, after returning to Europe, he commenced with studies in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. In 1915, he was hired by

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

ophthalmologist

Alfred Bielschowsky Alfred Bielschowsky (December 11, 1871 – April 5, 1940) was a German ophthalmologist. His specialty was physiology and pathology of the eye, particularly in regards to research of eye movement, space perception and diagnosis of oculomotor anoma ...

(1871-1940) to assist with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

soldiers who had been blinded by shell fragments and poison gas. In March 1916 Strehl and Bielschowsky established the ''Verein blinder Akademiker Deutschlands'' (German Society of Blind Academicians), an association to provide

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

assistance for the blind. Shortly afterwards he founded the (German Blind Study Institute; aka ''Carl Strehl-Schule'') for the visually impaired, which today is a nationally recognized institution in

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

. In addition, Strehl was vice-president of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, and was a prominent member of the International Council of Educators of Blind Youth.

References

New Beacon; Journal of Blind Welfare

Blista news April 2007
Gedenktafel für Carl Strehl (translated biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Strehl, Carl Heads of schools in Germany 1886 births 1971 deaths People from Berlin German blind people Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany